The Sound of Settling
by human28
Summary: The Sons are forced by their own mothers to marry before the end of the year. Will they find love?
1. Caleb Danvers

Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

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_**THE SOUND OF SETTLING**_

Prologue

_To our beloved sons,_

_We believe the time has come for each of you to marry. Twenty-one might sound young to you, but you are different than most. You boys are special, carrying with you a deeper responsibility that has, without a doubt, matured all of you. Not only that, we would absolutely love to see our grandsons before we come to pass. We despise watching you spend your money on useless materials and unfavorable women. Our reputation is on the line and it is imperative that each of you live up to it. Our ancestors would not be proud. Our lines need to be sustained lest we all die out. The four of us have deliberated over this for quite some time and we have reached a mutual decision: you will all get married before the end of the year and that is final._

_With much love,_

_Eleanor Danvers, Teresa Parry, Rita Garwin, & Lily Simms_

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Chapter One: Caleb Danvers 

Caleb Danvers was feeling downright miserable. He was sitting beside the punch bowl, staring gloomily at the crowds of people wandering light-heartedly around the ballroom. At the corner of his eye, he could see his mother shaking his head with disapproval in his direction. He pretended not to notice. He was quite contented to drown his misery in fruit punch. This somehow made him feel even more pathetic. It was spiked, but it was still fruit punch.

He was so busy concentrating on the glass filled with pink liquid in his hand that he did not notice the girl who had boldly approached him. He looked up with minimal surprise. She was not the first one to try speaking with him. Try, being the key word.

"Hi Caleb! I'm Rose. Our parents introduced us earlier. Do you recall?"

Caleb did not even bother plastering a fake smile on his face. He had been doing so for the majority of the evening and had grown rather tired of it. Instead, he nodded curtly. "Yes, I do."

"Do you want to dance?"

He took one look at her and blanched. "No thank you."

She frowned and left without another word, her blonde hair whirling behind her. It was amazing how a mere color could bring back a million memories. He finished his fruit punch in one gulp and stood to look for something stronger.

He kept to the walls, trying to avoid the probing gazes of high-society mothers and the hungry looks from their female offspring. This was the first of the series of parties that the Mothers of Ipswich had thrown for the Sons. It was already June.

Caleb found it highly improbable that he was going to end up married by December, seeing as how he was still undeniably affixed to a girl that was no longer in his life. He reached the main bar. A blonde bartender with red lips grinned at him. Caleb stared. It seemed that he had traipsed right into Dye-Me-Blonde Land. It was either that or he was being haunted by another painful memory.

Well, there was always a way to escape.

"What'll it be, handsome?" The bartender asked in a Southern drawl.

"I'll have five shots of tequila."

The bartender fixed him with a astonished look. "Well aren't you Mr. Broody." She shook her head before lining up five empty shot glasses and filling them to the brim with the enticing gold fluid. She pulled out a plate of lemons and salt but Caleb pushed it away. He grabbed the first glass and gulped it down, enjoying the taste of Patron and the momentary burning sensation in his throat. It immediately warmed his stomach.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Caleb took the next shot without pause.

"Drinking never solves anything, ya know."

"For tonight it will."

Three more to go.

"Why'd you become a bartender?" Caleb asked, the question coming out of the blue. Anything to keep her from asking more. Anything to keep him from remembering.

She shrugged. "I used to be an alcoholic. I'm sober now. Been that way for two years. Being able to be constantly around it and not _want _it – it's the greatest feeling in the world."

Caleb finished his third shot and went for his fourth.

One of the guests took a seat at the far end of the bar and beckoned for the bartender to take his order. Just as Caleb was about to take his fifth and final shot, she laid a hand on his. "Take it from me, alcohol may numb the pain now, but the memory? It ain't fading anytime soon."

By this time, the tequila had reached his brain and had killed a good number of brain cells rendering him slightly woozy. Emphasis on 'slightly'. He wasn't a Son of Ipswich for nothing. Power still ran through his veins. It didn't matter that he hadn't Used for a long time, it was still there, it was still a part of him.

It was also the mainreason why their mothers were so keen on marrying them off. They wanted grandchildren – no, they wanted grand_sons._ While Caleb was not totally against it, he felt bittersweet about having a kid that would grow up to have such a complicated life. The Power was a gift, but the Aging was a curse. But to some people, the former was just as worse as the latter.

A face flashed in his head.

_Sarah._

He didn't blame her for wanting a normal life. God knows what she had gone through during the Chase escapade – _which was close to three years ago. _Caleb thought. She had stayed with him until they both graduated from highschool. She had watched the rest of the Sons Ascend, watched all of them toy with their Power. She then decided that it was too much. She left for college then.

Caleb had no choice but to let her go.

He thought about her all the time. If she was happy with someone else. He strongly wished she was. By his estimate, she would be in her third year in college by now. If he can recall, she wanted to be a veterinarian.

Unlike Sarah and the rest of their former class back at Spenser, the Sons never had the luxury of going to college. They immediately inherited their family businesses and were meant to manage them until they died.

He was so deep in thought that barely felt the tap on his shoulder. He turned to look and restrained a groan of despair. It was his mother. The one person he had been trying to avoid all night long.

"Caleb." Her voice was stern. He silently thanked the alcohol for keeping him sane. "This has got to stop."

He feigned innocence. "What?"

"The moping." She raised a perfectly-manicured eyebrow challenging him to deny it. But mothers had a tendency to know everything. Sometimes he wondered if they had powers themselves. "It is highly unbecoming!"

Caleb decided that the only power she had was the power of nagging.

"Rose seemed interested."

Caleb grunted.

Eleanor Danvers threw her hands in the air. "Fine. Go wallow in self-pity. At the rate you're going, Reid's going to end up married first."

Caleb snorted.

Now _that _was impossible.

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A/N: A review would be a nice motivation :)


	2. Reid Garwin

Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

A/N: Thanks to those who took their time to review. I appreciate it.

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Chapter Two: Reid Garwin

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room…

"Hey there, what's your name?"

"Carmen."

"What a coincidence! My grandmother's name was Carmen!"

"And that would be your fifth grandmother, yes?" A new voice joined the conversation. Reid tore his gaze away from Carmen and clashed into a pair of intense grey eyes. He gave her a once-over: tall, brunette, stunning body. If it weren't for the sarcasm dripping from her voice, she would have been number one on Reid's list.

"I don't know what your talking about." Reid said through gritted teeth.

"He's been telling every girl he meets that their name was exactly like his grandmother's." She told Carmen who frowned in disgust and left without a backward glance. Reid watched her go. _There goes my dessert. _He thought with a groan of frustration.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Reid asked angrily. "No, wait. I think I already know your name – starts with a B and ends with an H. Did I get that right?" The next thing he knew he had doubled over in pain. "_Fuck!_"

"The name's Riley and I do _not _appreciate you lying to get into my friend's pants." Riley flashed him a grin before flipping her hair over her shoulder and turning to leave. But Reid was faster. His hand latched onto her wrist and pulled her towards him. She gasped in shock and tried to break free. The end result sent them toppling to the floor.

"Let me go you moron!" She yelled.

It was a good thing that Reid had chosen the emptiest corner in the room to talk to Carmen. No one took notice of the two bodies wrestling on the floor. Usually, Reid would never retaliate against a girl. But this one, he would make an exception. Not only had she ruined a perfectly good night – well, what _was _going to be a perfectly good night. She had also punched him in the gut, which was more than enough humiliation than a guy could take.

"Shut up!" He hissed.

"Help! Somebody!"

But Reid had already clamped a hand over her mouth.

Finally, she grew tired of struggling and went limp in his arms. She glared daggers up at him. Now, Reid would have enjoyed the position he was in if the girl underneath wasn't so – acerbic.

"You should know better than to infuriate the host of this party." Reid growled at her. Rather than blink in fear, Riley burst out laughing. Which was, of course, the last thing that Reid would have expected.

"I thought Caleb was intense but you – _you _are unbelievable!" She said in between giggles. Reid scowled but got off of her. He made no move to help her up. She stood on her own, straightening her clothes. She was still laughing.

"You owe me an apology." Reid demanded.

She raised an eyebrow. "Don't act like you didn't deserve it."

Reid wanted to pull his hair out in exasperation. But he would never do that. He loved his hair far too much. Instead, he satisfied himself with another adamant glare in her direction.

"I always had a feeling that you Sons were nothing but spoiled brats." Riley said with a shrug. "I guess I'm right."

"We're _not_." Reid crossed his arms across his chest.

"You're right. They're not. _You_ are."

"_You_ don't know a damn thing about me."

She smirked. "You're transparent as glass." Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and walked away, leaving Reid to stand there all alone, utterly speechless and with his eyes fixated on her sashaying ass.

And what a nice ass it was.

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A/N: Too short? Let me know :)


	3. Pogue Parry

Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

A/N: So few reviewed :( Thanks to those who took their time.

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Chapter Three: Pogue Parry

Pogue was bored. Caleb was too sulky to be good company, Reid had disappeared into a dark corner, and Tyler was nowhere to be found. Two hours had already elapsed. He was keeping time. He could not wait to escape from this aggravating affair and jump back into his own bed and drink beer. He still could not believe that they did not serve beer at the party. The Ipswich Mothers could not get any more irritating than that.

_Speak of the devil._

Teresa Parry was making her way through the throng of people, her eyes set on her only son. Pogue's own eyes widened in panic. He made a sudden turn and was about to run off when he collided into a very human form.

"Ouch!"

Something wet splashed across his tuxedo as he fell on his butt. Hard.

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

He looked up expecting to see his mother glowering at him. Instead, he was met with a pair of dazzling green eyes. They struck him momentarily speechless. It was only when they blinked when he realized that he was gaping at her like a fish out of water. _Real smooth, Parry. _He reprimanded himself.

"I'm alright." He said, accepting her proffered hand and allowing her to help him stand. "It was my fault, anyway. I wasn't looking."

"Neither was I!" She exclaimed. She seemed sincerely embarrassed. Pogue thought it was cute. "I'm Micah, by the way."

"Pogue." He supplemented.

"I know." She smiled apologetically. "I can't believe I ruined your suit."

"Oh, it's nothing." He waved her off. He considered excusing himself to _Use _in the bathroom, but decided against it. Caleb would have a fit. In his peripheral vision, he could see his mother back away slowly, an appreciative smile on her face. It was only then that he smelled the unmistakable scent of alcohol on his tux. And it wasn't just any kind of alcohol.

"Were you drinking _beer_?" He asked incredulously.

Micah turned red. "Um. I was – you see, um."

Pogue burst out laughing. "No. It's okay. It's just that I was looking for beer since this party started. But there didn't seem to be any."

Micah's expression was one of confusion. "Really? I got this from the bar."

"_What?_"

So his mother was a lot wiser than he thought. She knew how Pogue tended to get a little carried away when he was around too much beer. She probably told the bartender not to give him any. "Damn, she's good." He muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

Pogue fixed a bright smile on his face. "Nothing. Why don't I take that remaining glass of yours and get you a new one?"

She smiled. "That would be nice."

"Shall we?" Pogue offered his arm, then grimaced, realizing it was still wet. "No, wait. Maybe we should try the other arm."

She laughed, a tinkling sound that warmed him. She allowed him to lead her towards the bar. He noticed Caleb sitting at the far end, staring at five empty shot glasses. Pogue frowned. He wished he'd get over Sarah already. There were plenty of fish in the sea. It was time Caleb went fishing, just like Pogue was. Kate was just a mere memory, now. _What's done is done._

"Hi there, can I please get a beer for the lady?" Pogue stated smoothly.

The bartender nodded. "Sure."

Pogue decided to try his luck. "On second thought, can you make that two? Her friend at the table would like one as well."

The bartender graced him with a suspicious stare. "On which table? I could deliver it to her myself."

Micah looked bewildered at the seemingly odd exchange.

"It's right across the room. I could just do it myself, you know."

"My apologies Mr. Parry but Mrs. Parry warned me strictly not to trust you with any beer."

Micah slapped a hand to her mouth.

Pogue's eyes bulged. _Not to _trust _me with beer? Really, mother? _It wasn't like he couldn't handle his alcohol. He could. Caleb was the lightweight out of the four of them and there he was being served five shots of God-knows-what. It was only because his mother had chosen to visit him at his bachelor's pad at the worst moment possible – when he was drunk as hell. And that had been one time only.

It was then he realized that Micah was shaking with silent laughter. He glared at her. This only caused another wave of laughter to consume her. "_Fine._" He said through gritted teeth. "I'll have a Shirley Temple."

The bartender nodded and went to get their drinks. After they had it, Micah pulled Pogue outside of the ballroom. She promptly exchanged their drinks. "You're lucky I love Shirley Temple." She grinned at him.

Pogue sighed with relief as he downed half of the beer in one gulp. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not a lightweight drinker. My mother just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I had a feeling." She giggled.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" Pogue asked, more to himself than to her.

"Well, we do have each other for company." She said shyly.

Pogue grinned. "Cheers to that."

"So why exactly do your moms want you married by the end of the year?" Micah asked curiously. He had been asked this question for a million times that night already. It should have been an easy answer: _"Well, we need to sire sons to acquire the Power._"

Instead, they were told to say this: "For safety purposes. If ever something happened to us, we'd have our kids to take over the inheritance."

"Are you in danger or something?" Micah asked with wide eyes.

"Nah. Our mothers are just crazy like that." He gave her a reassuring grin. The lies they needed to weave in order to get married. It was awful. That was how important it was for them to find a girl that really loved them – that would stay by their side no matter how implausible the truth could be.

"Yeah." Micah agreed. But the note of doubt in her tone did not go unnoticed. Pogue finished his beer. He didn't want to deal with that right now. He just wanted to have fun for a change. Micah was sweet and had a great sense of humor. It didn't hurt that she was drop-dead gorgeous as well. She was, in Pogue's eyes, ideal.

_An ideal wife._

The thought caught him off guard. But he knew he should be thinking along those lines already. After all, he only had six months left. Half a year to gain a woman's trust. Half a year to get her to fall in love.

It seemed impossible.

But nothing was impossible. At least, in Pogue Parry's case, it wasn't.

He flashed his most charming smile at Micah. "Care to dance?"

Her green eyes sparkled. "I would love to."

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A/N: Please review.


	4. Tyler Simms

Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

A/N: I'm sad :( only 2 people reviewed out of the 70 who read it. Thanks to them (puppygurl.98 & kvsgrl), you have this. Oh well, hope you enjoy this one.

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Chapter Four: Tyler Simms

As usual, Tyler was being a wallflower. Don't get the wrong idea, he wasn't shy around girls. He just didn't like the prospect of finding his future wife. Marriage was so far out of his vocabulary that he couldn't wrap his brain around it. It was just – weird. He was only 21 damnit! So instead, he busied himself interrogating the waiters, the guards, the bartenders. Anyone who could talk to him that didn't want to marry him.

Strangely enough, none of the female populate (besides the mothers) seemed to acknowledge his presence. This relieved him.

But then again, you can't have Lily Simms as a mother and not get away with it.

He soon found himself standing in front of a pretty brunette with warm brown eyes. She looked uncomfortable. _Great. _He thought. _That makes two of us. _Lily was glowering at him two feet away. "_Dance with her!_" she hissed.

"Hi." Tyler said, offering her his arm. "I suppose you heard that."

"It's alright." She said smiling uncertainly. "One dance couldn't hurt."

They made their way towards the dancefloor. Tyler may not like the situation he was in, but he was far too much of a gentleman to just ignore the girl. Besides, she was cute.

"I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Cara."

"Let me guess, your mom put you up to this?"

"She sure did. I guess you could say I'm a little scared of her." She smiled timidly.

"Same here." Tyler said with a grin. "Mothers are monsters."

She laughed and he felt her relax in his arms. "So, you in college, Cara?"

She nodded. "I'm taking up interior design."

"That's cool. Must be fun." Tyler said. "Wish I could go to college."

"You should be a model." Cara suddenly blurted out.

Tyler almost lost his step. _What? _"What?"

But Cara didn't seem to be embarrassed by her suggestion. She just shrugged and grinned. "I mean, why not?"

"Because I'm not the model type?" Tyler stated slowly.

"Oh come on, Tyler. You're so freaking hot."

His jaw dropped to the floor. When had they gotten so blunt?

"Um, thanks?"

Cara waved him off. "It's a fact of life. So do you have a partner?"

Tyler frowned. "Partner? Like business partner?"

Cara matched his expression. "No. Like partner, _partner. _Like a lover, or something."

_The fuck? _"You mean a girlfriend?"

Cara stared at him as if he were crazy. "Hey it's okay. I've got a lot of gay friends."

_No. Fucking. Way._

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I'm not gay."

By now, the two of them had stopped dancing. They stood in the middle staring at each other. Cara with disbelief. Tyler with queasiness. _Were people actually thinking that? Him and another guy? _The thought made him want to puke.

"You don't have to lie." Cara said softly, patting him on the arm. "You haven't had a girlfriend for more than two years. You've been avoiding every single girl like the plague the entire night, and I've seen you talking to that waiter. He's cute."

Tyler decided that he needed to clear things. Fast. "First of all, just because I haven't had a girlfriend for more than two years doesn't make me gay. I just haven't found the right one. Somehow, one-night-stands don't appeal to me. Second of all, I've been avoiding every single girl the whole night because I don't enjoy the prospect of getting married in six months, and thirdly, I don't think that waiter is cute. In fact, I don't think any person of my gender is _cute_."

His little outburst had earned them a little audience.

Then the whispering began.

For the first time in his life, Tyler found himself fuming. He stalked off in the opposite direction, leaving Cara to stare after him with shock. A few girls attempted to follow him, apparently realizing that they were sadly mistaken, but he brushed them off, not caring if he was rude.

"Give me that." He growled at the "cute" waiter, grabbing two glasses of champagne on either hand and downing them in one gulp. He decided he was going to get wasted that night and he was going to screw the first girl he sees.

_Gay my fucking ass._

He was going to show them.

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A/N: Review please. Chapters 5 & 6 are already done.


	5. In Which The Four Sons Meet

Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

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Chapter Five: In Which the Fours Sons Meet

"I hear this is the place to be."

Caleb looked up to see his normally stable friend downing his third glass of Scotch. Caleb had not heard the ruckus that had originated from Tyler's little outburst, as he was too busy pondering life at the farthest corner of the bar. Fortunately, he had taken a breather from bombarding tequila down his throat, much to the bartender's relief.

"Are you alright man?" Caleb asked as he took a seat next to him. Rarely do you see Tyler Simms drinking without pause. That was usually Pogue's line of work. And more recently, Caleb's.

"Guess you haven't heard." Tyler said bitterly.

"Heard what?" Of course he hadn't heard. He was lost in his own world.

"_They_," Tyler made a sweeping motion towards the female guests. " – think I'm gay."

Caleb bit his lip to keep from laughing. But it was too late. A loud guffaw escaped him. He was graced with a death glare from Tyler. "It's _not _funny." Tyler said with a scowl. That only made him laugh harder.

He clapped Tyler on the back. "You made my night."

"I hate you." Tyler muttered without much force. "Bartender! Another Scotch please!"

"Drinking never solves anything, you know." Caleb said wisely. Tyler didn't need to know that he was on the receiving end of that line earlier that night. He discreetly pushed away the empty shot glasses.

Tyler shot him a weird look. "I'm not trying to solve anything. I just want to get fucking wasted so I can screw some random girl's brains out."

Caleb was horrified. "What? Tyler, no!"

"Why not?" Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Reid does it every day. Pogue did it when he broke up with Kate. _You've _done it before."

"But _you _don't."

"Well hell, Caleb. I'm supposed to get married by the end of the year. Might as well try my luck."

"You'll regret it."

"Fuck regret." Tyler apparently forgot that he had ordered another Scotch because he stood. "The assumptions stop _tonight. _Tomorrow, they'll be the ones regretting their actions." He left before Caleb had a chance to say something else.

Caleb decided another shot of tequila wouldn't hurt. "Bartender!"

…

Tyler stormed into the hallway. It was empty. The party was still in full swing inside, despite it nearing midnight. He sank into a sofa, almost considering to just check into the hotel. He didn't feel like driving home. A massive headache was already starting to make an appearance. He buried his head in his hands. He knew why he was upset and it wasn't because of the stupid rumor. That was just as an excuse for him to explode. He'd been wanting to for a while now.

He hated the fact that they – _he _in particular was being pressured to marry someone he might not love. He wanted to fall in love. He wanted a real fairytale happy ending. _Damnit, Tyler. _Now _you're starting to sound gay. _

"Tyler?"

He looked up, startled.

Surprise, surprise, it was Cara.

"What do you want?" He didn't mean to sound harsh, but then again, he wasn't in the best of moods.

"I'm sorry." She said softly. "Can I have a seat?" She gestured towards the vacant space beside him. He shrugged, uncaring. She took it reluctantly. "Can you forgive me?"

Tyler faced her. Stared straight into her chocolate-brown eyes, trailed his gaze towards her lips. Unconsciously, he licked his own. His brain was a little fuzzy at that moment, the alcohol taking a shot at his thinking. "I suppose I could." He said, unaware at how husky his voice had gotten.

Cara's shoulders sagged with apparent relief. "I'm glad." She then turned pink as her eyes went wide. "Oh my god. I can't believe I actually said you were hot. To your face. And that you could be a model. I'm such a moron. Oh! How embarrassing! " She was rambling. It was kind of cute.

"Shut up, Cara." He murmured catching her lips with his own and pulling her flush against him. She gasped. He used that to his advantage and slid his tongue into her mouth. She tasted like champagne. Delicious.

And then she pushed him away.

Tyler stared at her.

"I'm sorry."

And she ran.

Tyler realized his plan wasn't going to work. And then he realized that he didn't really feel like making it work. That kiss was – inexplicable. He _wanted _to kiss her. Maybe all hope wasn't lost.

"Hey Baby Boy."

_Great. Just what he needed._

"What is it Reid?"

"Well, someone's got his panties in a twist." Reid cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Tyler told him, letting his head drop into his hands. Reid plunked down beside him. "Wait a second. What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Well, this isn't unusual for me." Tyler stated matter-of-factly. "However, _this _is unusual for you. Shouldn't you be in one of the upstairs bedrooms fucking some random girl?"

Reid frowned. "Some bitch ruined it for me."

Tyler's eyebrows shot up. Now that was interesting.

"Who's a bitch?" It was Caleb. He plunked down on the other side of Tyler. He reeked of alcohol.

"Some girl named Riley." Reid muttered under her breath.

"Oh her. She seemed pretty nice." Caleb said off-handedly.

"Who's nice?" Pogue asked walking in, or rather, out into the hallway. He was wearing a goofy smile on his face. There was a suspicious stain on his shirt. He came to a halt in front of them. "Well _damn_, who died?"

"Apparently someone you hate." Reid snapped. "You look awfully chipper."

"I had a good night." Pogue said defensively. "You three, obviously didn't."

"Lucky us." Tyler muttered under his breath. "Maybe we should leave."

Caleb stared at him as if he were crazy. "Do you have a death wish?"

Reid shook his head. "We can't leave. Our mothers will _murder_ us in our sleep."

Tyler had forgotten about that. He slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah."

It was going to be a long six months.

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A/N: A review would be nice.


	6. In Which the Four Sons Score Dates

Disclaimer: Alas, the Sons of Ipswich do not belong to me!

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Chapter Six: In Which the Four Sons Score Dates

The Mothers of Ipswich were all-seeing and all-knowing. Thus, they were able to pinpoint the girls that had caught the interest of their Sons. And so, they were able to cut down the guest list and eliminate more than a few. The next event was to be held at the Garwin Manor (to the relief of Reid) and it was to be a semi-formal luncheon (to the relief of Pogue, who despised wearing a coat and tie).

"There's just no getting out of this, is there?" Tyler asked to no one in particular. They were standing by the pool, watching familiar faces pile in and give them not-so-subtle once-overs.

"Apparently not." Reid replied sullenly.

Pogue gasped. "The infamous Reid Garwin dismayed by the thought of women prying for his attention? What has the world gone to?"

Caleb chuckled.

"Big words, Parry. Finally bought a dictionary?" Reid shot back.

"Whatever man." Pogue clapped him on the back, his gaze trained at a figure across the room where a girl wearing a flowery dress was waving at him. "There's my woman. See you later, losers."

"Lucky guy." Caleb grunted before facing Reid. "Where do you stash your beer?"

"In the fridge, oh alcoholic leader." Reid answered with a roll of his eyes. "Feel free to help yourself."

"Thanks." Caleb said, ignoring the diss.

"What happened to him?" Reid asked watching him go.

"Sarah happened. That's what." Tyler said with a shake of his head.

"Oh shit. It's her." Reid said, his features growing stony. Riley approached them, grey eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Dude. She's hot." Tyler said with a grin. "Hey there. I'm Tyler."

"Riley." She smirked. "You must be man-whore's best friend."

Tyler stifled a laugh. "I'll leave you two."

Reid glowered. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mom invited me." She flashed a smile, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. "Nice house, by the way. I wonder where you take all of your dates to? No, wait. Let me guess, to your grandmother's bedroom?" She burst out laughing.

_Smart-ass._ Reid thought. He tapped his chin. Maybe it was time he tried a differing approach. He matched her smirk. "Why are you so interested?" He obviously caught her off guard because she had no response for him. "Cat got your tongue, sweetheart? Maybe I could help you find it."

She snorted. "That's the best you've got?"

"Nope." Reid drawled, taking a step closer. "You haven't seen the best…yet."

She shivered.

_Now we're making progress._

Or so he thought.

Her foot came crashing onto his.

"_Shit _woman! What the _hell _was that for?" A few of the older guests turned to grace him with severe glares. He jumped around trying to shake the pain from his injured appendage. God, this woman must be a sadist.

"For invading my personal space." She said simply.

Reid glared at her. "For someone so pretty, you sure are annoying."

Riley faltered. "Wha – what? You think I'm pretty?"

The sudden change in her façade did not go unnoticed. Reid blinked. He usually didn't have trouble doling out compliments to women – _especially _to women, but he also usually did not receive replies such as this one. For a second, he considered just saying yes. Because she _was _gorgeous. But then again, she _had _stepped on his foot. On purpose.

"The appeal has lessened somewhat thanks to your utter bitchiness." He sneered at her.

"And _your _appeal has disappeared completely thanks to your utter sluttiness!" She snapped.

"There you go!" Reid almost yelled. "You know what, I can see right through you."

"Oh really? And what, pray tell, can you see?" She asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"You're scared." Reid said in a low voice.

"Of you?" She laughed derisively. "Think again, Prince Charming. You're about as scary as a puppy pissing himself!"

Reid crossed his arms across his chest. "Fine. If you're _not _scared of me, then have dinner with me. Tonight"

Riley blinked owlishly at him.

Reid raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

"_Fine._" She snapped. She turned on her heel and walked away.

Reid didn't know why. But something about her intrigued him. He mentally patted himself on his back. _Well done, Garwin._

…

It was amazing how one small outburst could rapidly turn things around.

An arm snaked around his waist, catching him by surprise.

"Hello, Tyler."

Tyler turned to see a rather curvy redhead smiling invitingly at him. After being surrounded by a flurry of eager girls, Tyler had delicately excused himself and had gone into the house in search of Caleb. His brooding friend was better than an annoying herd of Barbie look-alikes. Just when he thought he had escaped, he runs into this.

"I'm Dana."

"Hi Dana." He said politely, not feeling the slightest bit turned on by her enormous cleavage. Her hand began to rub circles around his back. He restrained a sigh. Tyler was too much of a gentleman to be openly rude to a girl -- no, woman (she definitely looked older than him) who hadn't done anything to him.

"Maybe you could give me a tour of the house?" She suggested, biting her lower lip.

"Um, it's not my house." He tried to pry her fingers off of him. His eyes lit up at the sight of Caleb. "Caleb! There you are! I've been looking all over for you."

Caleb stopped mid-track to blink at him in confusion. "You were?" He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Dana who had practically pressed herself at Tyler's side. She was still whispering in his ear.

"We needed to talk about that thing! You know, that _thing_." Tyler stated helplessly.

Caleb was grinning now. "I'm sure it could wait until later. You seem pretty busy."

If looks could kill, Caleb would have been a corpse by now.

"It _can't._" Tyler said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, alright. Dana, do you mind if I borrow Tyler for a while?"

Dana licked her lips and eyed Caleb with a grin. "Not a problem." She left them alone, but not before giving Tyler's ass a small pinch. Caleb was shaking with silent laughter by now.

"You _know _that woman?" Tyler asked rubbing his behind with a shake of his head.

"She tried the same thing with me earlier." Caleb said with a shrug. "She'll be looking for Reid and Pogue, next. Speaking of looking, there was a girl here a few seconds ago. She asked for you."

_Her and a million others. _Tyler thought dryly. "What's her name?"

Caleb scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh. I can't remember. I was kind of -- "

"Lost in space?" Tyler cocked an eyebrow.

"Brunette. Brown eyes. I think it was Tara. Or was it Carla?"

"It's Cara." A new voice said from behind them.

It was her.

"Hi."

"Hey." Tyler said slowly, unsure of why she had been looking for him in the first place. She _had _pushed him away after all.

Caleb muttered an 'excuse me' and left.

"I wanted to apologize -- "

Tyler held up a hand. "No. It was my fault. I had a little too much to drink."

"Are we cool then?" She asked meekly, taking a tentative step forward.

Tyler pretended to think it over. "Well…"

"Ireallyamsorry." She blurted out in a rush.

Tyler smiled. She was just too cute to resist. "Only if you go out with me."

"I could do that." She said with a small smile.

…

Meanwhile, Pogue Parry was enjoying himself immensely in the company of one Micah Summers. He could not remember the last time he felt this way about a girl. The last time was – well, he would rather not remember.

They were currently sitting at a table by the pool, talking about anything and everything in between. He was already looking forward to dinner, as she had already consented on a date with him.

They were halfway through dessert when his mother came ambling towards them with a concerned look etched across her face. He couldn't even begin to wonder why as she had been hugely supportive of his evident interest in Micah.

"Pogue, dear. Would you mind taking a minute inside? There's an urgent matter I need to discuss with you. Will you be alright Micah?"

"I'll be fine Mrs. Parry." She responded with a bright smile.

"Please, call me Teresa."

Pogue was hurriedly ushered into the house by his own mother. She kept a firm clasp on his arm. "What's this all about mom?" He asked curiously. They stopped outside the living room entrance.

"We have guests."

…

Caleb had hastily thrown his can of beer the minute his mother called on his presence in the living room. He expected the other guys to be there as well since it was obviously important. However, when he got there, the only person present was Pogue. He was lingering outside the door, apparently waiting for him. Their mothers were nowhere to be found.

"There you are. Ready?" Pogue asked, putting a hand on the doorknob.

"What's going on?" Caleb asked.

Pogue shrugged. "We have guests."

"Who?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

Pogue pushed open the door, both of them not knowing what to expect.

What waited for them in the living room, however, was the _least _of their expectations.

"_Sarah_?"

"KATE?"


End file.
